1 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the Front. I'm Claire Harvey. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: It's Wednesday, January eighth. There's an epidemic of childhood anxiety, 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: or maybe there's not. Experts say worried parents and well 4 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: meaning educators may be making anxiety worse by indulging kids 5 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: instead of helping them through the normal challenges of life. 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: That's an exclusive live right now at the Australian dot 7 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: com dot a slash health. Julian Assange has been very 8 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: quiet since returning to Australia in mid twenty twenty four. 9 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: He was freed after pleading guilty to a United States 10 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: charge of espionage. He's a hacker, a self styled freedom fighter, 11 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: and someone who's always denied committing crimes. But do you 12 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: remember why he was on the run in the first place. 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: Today we go back to the start with the women 14 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: who accused Assange of rape. This episode was first broadcast 15 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 1: in June twenty twenty four, and don't forget we'll be 16 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: back with all new episodes of The Front on January eleven. 17 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: Before we begin, this episode contains allegations of sexual assault. 18 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: Back in twenty ten, Julian Assange was a figure of 19 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: international intrigue, the swashbuckling hacker turned publisher whose website Wikileagues 20 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: was dumping thousands of documents into the public domain, highly 21 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: damaging secret military files that exposed the inner workings of 22 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: America's war in Afghanistan. And then Assange was accused of 23 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: rape while he was working in Sweden. Two young Swedish 24 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: women who had met him in Wikileak circles accused Assange 25 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: of having sex with them without using a condom without 26 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: their consent. One was Anna Ardin. She had hosted Assange 27 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: in her home and the pair had sex in which 28 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: she said Assange deliberately ripped a condom she'd asked him 29 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: to wear and was violent towards her during sex. Assange 30 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: denied both those allegations. You're Flawdiana. Julian Massange men to scoff, 31 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: but I'm not a shorning all. In this interview with 32 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: Swedish paper Zvenska, Doug Bladette, Ardin, who's written a book 33 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: about her allegations, said this, We've used a voice actor 34 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: to bring you the translation of her words. 35 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 2: I'm happy to forgive Julian Assange, but I can't create 36 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 2: this reconciliation myself. I did my best to get this 37 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 2: thing tried in court, but he stayed away. It affected 38 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 2: my life immensely in the beginning. I had to quit 39 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 2: my job, I had to move out of my apartment. 40 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 2: I was even hidden abroad for a period. I also 41 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 2: got a lot of support and it's helped me move 42 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 2: on and I think I've become a stronger person in 43 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 2: this process. 44 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: Another woman, known only as Miss W, had consensual sex 45 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: with Assange using a condom, but said she had awoken 46 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 1: the following morning to find him having sex with her again, 47 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: this time without the condom she'd asked him to use. 48 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: This action removing a condom is now known as stealthing, 49 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: and over the past decade has been formally criminalized throughout 50 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: Australia and much of the western world. In Queensland, this 51 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: offense carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Assange 52 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: has always denied wrongdoing and said his contact with the 53 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: women was consensual. He was questioned by local police, but 54 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: he left Sweden for the UK before he could be charged. 55 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: Swedish authorities formally arrested him in absentia in September twenty ten. 56 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: Swedish courts issued a European arrest warrant, and the international 57 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: policing agency INTERPOL issued a Red Notice, a note to 58 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: police around the world indicating a person is wanted for extradition. Assange, 59 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: by now in London, was arrested by London's Metropolitan Police 60 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:33,479 Speaker 1: and remanded in custody, whereupon numerous supporters, including Jemima Kahn, 61 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: helped him post hundreds of thousands of dollars in bail. 62 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: British courts issued an extradition warrant, rejecting Assannger's arguments the 63 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: Swedish prosecution was politically motivated. Assange appealed to Britain's High Court. 64 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: His lawyers argued the women had consented to sex, and 65 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: that his conduct might have been unpleasant, but if committed 66 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,239 Speaker 1: in London, would not have been a crime. His lawyer 67 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: ben Emerson case Assange may have seemed disreputable, discourteous, disturbing 68 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 1: or even pushing towards the boundaries of what they were 69 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: comfortable with, but it was not a criminal. He's a 70 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: voice actor with Ben Emerson Casey's words as spoken in court. 71 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: He's speaking about the second woman who says she awoke 72 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: to find Assange having sex with her without a condom. 73 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 3: She may not have enjoyed the experience, but she clearly 74 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:29,600 Speaker 3: consented to it. 75 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,600 Speaker 1: The High Court rejected Assange's arguments, ruling Swedish authorities could 76 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: order his return to Sweden. Assange was defiant. 77 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 4: I have not been charged with any crime in any country. 78 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 4: No doubt. There will be many attempts made to try 79 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 4: and spin these proceedings as they occur today, but they 80 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 4: are merely technical. 81 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: While all this was going on, Wiki leaks continued. In 82 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: twenty eleven, the Walkley Foundation in Australia gave WikiLeaks and 83 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: Dessange an award for an Outstanding Contribution to Journalism after 84 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: they published a video showing American forces killing civilians and 85 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: to Reuter's journalists in Baghdad That sparked a fierce debate. 86 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: Was this accused rapist and self proclaimed crusader actually the 87 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: journalist at all? James Madden is the Australian's media editor. 88 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 5: I think it's cut and dried. Actually, Claire, I do 89 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 5: not believe what WikiLeaks does can be considered journalism, for 90 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 5: the simple fact that journalists have an obligation to the 91 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 5: readers and the public to present information in its relevant context. 92 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 5: That is a responsibility that falls upon the shoulders of 93 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 5: journalists and media companies and news outlets, and Wikileak's mo 94 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 5: has today obtaining documents and publishing them trives of documents 95 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 5: at a time, without sifting through these documents to present 96 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 5: the information within in journalism form. 97 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: Wikiliks prided itself on presenting entire cases of material without 98 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: editing or redaction. That meant the most sensitive diplomatic communications 99 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: were suddenly out in the open, including the names of 100 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: human rights leaders, dissidents, spies, informants, and others who were 101 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: secretly dealing with the US in places like Iraq. In 102 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: twenty ten, human rights organizations including Amnesty International begged WikiLeaks 103 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: to redact the names of Afghans who were working with 104 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: the Americans after the Taliban said it was going through 105 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: the documents on wikiliks to identify and eliminate collaborators. 106 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 5: That information, or that fact Claire doesn't always garner a 107 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 5: lot of publicity when defenders of Assange are talking about 108 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 5: the merits of his an Wikilik's journalism. But the truth is, 109 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 5: professional journalists take extraordinary steps to defend the privacy and 110 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 5: by extension the safety of people about whom they're writing, 111 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 5: and a lot of consideration goes into presenting information in 112 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 5: a responsible way. 113 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: Then Assange went into hiding, and unlike most people accused 114 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: of being sex offenders, he was suddenly hailed as a hero. 115 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: Assange claimed he was afraid that the Swedish judicial process 116 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: could end in him being extradited to the United States 117 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,599 Speaker 1: over all those classified US documents. In twenty twelve, he 118 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: sought asylum in the London embassy of Ecuador, a South 119 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: American republic, and that's where he stayed for seven years 120 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: in the embassy, refusing to emerge in case he was 121 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: arrested and sent back to Sweden to face the rape charges. 122 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, after much legal back and forth, Sweden 123 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: dropped the charges, saying too much time had expired. Although 124 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:19,720 Speaker 1: the women have never recanted their claims, Assange was triumphant. 125 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 4: Seven years without charge. Why my children grew up without them? 126 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,559 Speaker 4: That is not something that I can. 127 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: Forgive yeah children. It later emerged Assange had formed a 128 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: romance with a Swedish Spanish woman, Stella Morris, and fathered 129 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: two kids while inside the embassy. 130 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 6: He's not a criminal, He's not a dangerous person. He's 131 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 6: a gentle intellectual center and a journalist, and those people 132 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,560 Speaker 6: are not the people who belong in prison. 133 00:09:55,960 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: In April twenty nineteen, the Ecuadorians revoked his asylum. They 134 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: said a sanch had been a terrible HouseGuest, abusing staff, 135 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: hacking into their computer systems, meddling in Ecuador's relationships with 136 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 1: other countries, and even leaving the feces of his cat 137 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: and himself on the floors and walls of the embassy. 138 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: The Metropolitan Police stormed the embassy and dragged Assange out, 139 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: a bizarre scene on the quiet streets of London. As 140 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: Assian shouted the UK must resist pressure to extradite him, 141 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: Scotland Yard arrested him for failing to appear in court 142 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: over the rape allegation. Until now, the US had not 143 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,959 Speaker 1: moved on Assange at all, but in twenty nineteen, once 144 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: he was out of the embassy, the Americans finally revealed 145 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: they did want him. He'd been indicted by a US 146 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: grand jury for conspiration to commit computer intrusion. Coming up, 147 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: how Julian Assange recast himself as not an accused rapist, 148 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: but a freedom fighter. We'll be back after this break. 149 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: Belmarsh is the maximum security prison where Julian Assange has 150 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: been for the past nineteen hundred and one days, just 151 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,319 Speaker 1: over five years. His family and advocates have complained to 152 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,839 Speaker 1: Assange's mental and physical health were under desperate strain, so 153 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: why was he in jail? Initially, he was sentenced to 154 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: fifty weeks for breaching bail over the Swedish rape allegations. 155 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: British prosecutors said he'd illegally entered the embassy to avoid 156 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 1: extradition to Sweden. Assange released a statement of apologizing for 157 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: his conduct. We've used a voice actor. 158 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,200 Speaker 2: I apologize unreservedly to those who consider that I have 159 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 2: disrespected them by the way I have pursued my case. 160 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: This is not what I wanted or intended. In early 161 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, after about a month behind bars, Assange was 162 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 1: charged with an additional seventeen counts under the United States 163 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: Espionage Act relating to hundreds of thousands of leaked classified 164 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: US documents covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And 165 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:36,880 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty. 166 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 3: Julian Assange has been a denied bail by a judge 167 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 3: at a London court. The wiki league's founder was hoping 168 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 3: to leave prison two days after the same judge rejected 169 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 3: a request for extradition to the United States. 170 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: The judge that Assange couldn't be trusted to show up 171 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,200 Speaker 1: in court if he was given bail, and ordered him 172 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: to remain in Belmarsh while the extradition proceedings played out. Then, 173 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: in December twenty twenty one, another twist. 174 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 5: Julian Assange is a step closer to being extradited to 175 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 5: America after the US government one it's been to overturn 176 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 5: a UK court decision. 177 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: Assange appealed to the UK Supreme Court and failed. In 178 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,719 Speaker 1: April twenty twenty two, the US got its wish. A 179 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: British court has issued an order to extradite Wiki Leagues 180 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: founder Julian Assange to the United States. If convicted on 181 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 1: all charges, Assange faced up to one hundred and seventy 182 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: five years in an American prison. Just a month ago, 183 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: another British court granted Assange one last chance to appeal 184 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: the extradition order, and then on Sunday a deal was announced. 185 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: Assange agreed to plead guilty to one charge of espionage 186 00:13:54,360 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information. 187 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: He was released from Bellmarsh and bordered a plane to 188 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US Pacific territory, 189 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: where a judge will handle the formalities. That was also 190 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,560 Speaker 1: part of the negotiation to avoid Assange setting foot on 191 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:22,160 Speaker 1: the US mainland. The Americans have agreed to drop eighteen 192 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: espionage charges against Assange and he'll be sentenced to sixty 193 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: two months in prison, but his time already served in 194 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:35,880 Speaker 1: Bellmarsh will be counted. It's expected that after sentencing, he'll 195 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: leave the Marianas for Australia, his homeland. The Albanese government, 196 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 1: which is campaigned for his release, will welcome Assange in 197 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: the US. The Biden administration, which continued Donald Trump's pursuit 198 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: of Massange, will be relieved to see the last of him, 199 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: and the big question what now for the hacker turned 200 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: activist who says he's only ever sought to expose the truth. 201 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us for this fresh edit of one 202 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 1: of our favorite episodes from the past year. We'll be 203 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,040 Speaker 1: back with all new episodes on January eleven. In the meantime, 204 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: check out all the world's best journalism anytime at the 205 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: Australian dot com dot au